


Cookies

by Calyah



Series: Calyah's Solavellan Drabbles and Prompts [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 07:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3166526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calyah/pseuds/Calyah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian comforts Lavellan after Solas' departure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cookies

“Forty-one…forty-two…forty-three…”

Dorian stopped his counting and laid his head against the bookshelf with a grimace. He could not concentrate on his studies with the pounding between his eyes. Corypheus may have died, but the headaches he caused remained. It was ridiculous, really. The bad guy was gone. The world should have been all rainbows and butterflies once again.

“Oh, now you’ve gone mad,” he whispered to himself. If he was starting to use his own deflective humor in his inner thoughts, he truly needed a break.

Pushing himself away from the worn bindings of his books, Dorian walked to the window and leaned against the open frame. His brow creased when he looked out to the battlements across the way. It was well into the early morning hours and the weather was absolutely frigid. Yet, there she was, Inquisitor Lavellan, alone and hunched along the parapets, staring up at the moon.

Donning the warmest cloak he owned, Dorian left his study and made his way across the stone walkway. When she didn’t react in the slightest at his approach, Dorian frowned deeper. Solas’ departure and disappearance from the battlefield had left her sad, he knew, but never like this, so unreachably despondent. She was usually very cleverly composed, and he wasn’t quite sure what to say at seeing her otherwise.

Settling himself against the wall next to her, he turned his gaze towards the sky.

“A little cold for stargazing,” he said lightly, hoping to gain her attention and break her melancholy mood.

Lavellan said nothing in response, just shifted her eyes to him briefly before returning to stare at the moon.

Narrowing his eyes and shuffling closer, Dorian tried again.

“You should forget him, you know. If he simply couldn’t appreciate what an absolute goddess…”

“Dorian, don’t,” she said, cutting him off.

That was when he heard it, the soft hitch in her voice. He took in the sight of her face once again, noticing the hard set of her jaw and the glistening sheen to her eyes. He could see it then, just how close she was to letting her control slip and breaking down. Feeling his heart go out to her, Dorian chided himself in his approach. He knew exactly how awful it was to have one’s genuine emotion belittled and shrugged away with a laugh. It was wrong of him to try to do that to her.

“Look,” he began with a sigh, trying for full honesty, “I know I’m not the most experienced person in these matters, but I am sorry for your pain.”

Looking at her form, which was trembling with barely contained grief, his eyes softened. Reaching out, he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“You do not deserve this,” he whispered into her hair.

He heard her break down completely then, her body shaking as she cried softly and laid her head against the crook of his neck. And he meant it, she did not deserve this, not after all she had done. For him. For the world. For everyone in it.

So, he held her close and let her cry, the soft clank of far off sentry patrols the only other sound echoing across the night. He knew just how important it was to have someone who could be there in times of unbridled grief. Times when nothing felt right and solitude pained beyond measure. No one had ever been there for him like that. No genuine friend to break down to and help guide him through his painful youth. No one had even come close until she had come along and shown him true compassion and kindness in the face of the cruelty his father called love. If holding her silently while she cried would ease some of her own pain, it was the least he could do to repay her.

After a few minutes, she gently pushed herself away from his embrace and offered him a watery smile.

“Thanks, Dorian,” she said quietly. “I…”

Her words trailed off and she looked away from him, clearly embarrassed by her emotional display.

Offering her a charming grin, he reached into his pocket. Now, he could put his humor to use.

“Oh here,” he began with a teasing roll of his eyes, “they’d just go straight to my hips anyway.”

He brought out a bundle of waxed paper and pulled it open, offering her his final chocolate biscuit.

Lavellan laughed, finally, and sniffed back her tears, before wiping her cheeks. She took the sticky confection from the wrapper and broke it in two, offering one half back to him with a gentle smile.

“Well, I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Taking the treat from her hand, he let his eyes crinkle and a soft smile to grace his lips. Somehow, he knew she was talking about more than just the sweets.

“Yes, all right. Deal.”


End file.
